FEATURES

Nick Garcia Captures Miami 2020 for Brickell Magazine

March 03, 2014

By Barbara Goldman

&COPY; NICK GARCIA
Miami 2020 for Brickell Magazine.

Miami-based photographer Nick Garcia has been recognized by advertising, editorial and corporate professionals for his ability to understand the intricacies of powerful imagery. He has a passion for architecture and fashion, two forms that incorporate design and function, establishing his style with a distinct signature on image composition. He is a master at capturing the intuitive, sensitive and provocative.

From his Blindlight Miami Studio, Garcia has become a regular contributor to such national publishers and publications as Time Inc., Modern Luxury, Niche Media, Haute Living, Billboard Magazine, Firebrand Media and Televisa International. Locally, he is also the regular cover-photographer for publications such as BrickellMagazine, Key Biscayne Magazine and Florida Trend.

Garcia was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia and began his photography training as an apprentice under his father Enrique Garcia. He grew up in a world of cameras and lenses and gained vast knowledge of film and more importantly a passion for life that is reflected in the work he does today.

With his love of architecture and design, Garcia recently joined forces with graphic renderings company ArX Solutions and Tag Media to create a visual of how Miami's skyline will look in the year 2020. His image of the future Miami graced the cover of Brickell Magazine's January issue.

During the production process, editors of Tag Media’s Brickell Magazine and executives from Levy Communications gathered all the plans of future construction projects coming to the Brickell area, an urban neighborhood of greater downtown Miami. With a dense neighborhood of many upscale, luxury condominium and apartment buildings and the largest concentration of international banks in the U.S., it is often referred to as the "Manhattan of the South." The featured editorial describes how Brickell has become one of Miami's fastest growing neighborhoods with thriving construction and real estate.

Garcia captured a sunrise-lit aerial image of the Brickell Bay area using a Nikon d800, while directing exact location and angle with the helicopter pilot.. He opted for morning light to give more prominence to the bay buildings, which are the main feature of the image. "When shooting aerials, time is of the essence so we used new technology to make the best of it. During the pre-production we used Apple maps to pinpoint the perfect angle and height for the cover,"says Garcia. He needed to be very specific, as he did not want the renderings of the future skyline to overlap to the point of covering the new buildings. His camera was equipped with an eye-fi card to send the images to one of the magazine’s publishers, who was directing the shoot from 500 feet in the air and had an ipad with a mask on it checking the angle and cropping. Garcia's equipment also included the Nikon 35mm f2 lens and a gyro set to hold the camera for stability. “This was an incredibly fun and high-tech challenge for us every step of the way,” says Jorge Arauz, Brickell's Editor-in-Chief. “From the equipment we used, to the angles, the talent and the overall vision, everything fell into place almost seamlessly during the production process as we set out to create a glossy glimpse of Miami’s future skyline.”

ArX Solutions worked on the renderings of the image of new projects in post-production. The renderings were so good and matched the real buildings so perfectly that they had to ad a special glow to the new buildings for an easy and clearly visible identification of the new projects. “When the cover was released, everyone was like ‘OMG, how did you do it?’,” says Arauz. “One reader even referred to the cover image as ‘a crystal ball into The Magic City’s future’… another said she was thrilled that what she considered to be the nation’s next ‘Cover of the Year’ was produced in our own backyard. We live for compliments like that from readers.”

Garcia continues to evolve as a commercial photographer focused in fashion, lifestyle, editorial work, interior design and architecture, and he never forgets his roots. He still works with his father and one of their photography father-son rituals is working together during the acclaimed "Carnaval de Barranquilla" to publish the books Caras y Mascaras.